Jury To Decide Civil Rights Suit Of Man Shot By Officer

A federal jury will determine if a Pittsburgh Police officer violated the rights of Leon Ford, who was left paralyzed after he was shot during a traffic stop in 2012.

Credit Megan Harris / 90.5 WESA

A federal jury will be allowed to decide whether a white Pittsburgh police officer violated the rights of a black man left paralyzed after he was shot during a traffic stop almost four years ago.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly on Monday rejected a motion for summary judgment on the portion of the civil rights lawsuit involving the officer who shot Leon Ford in November 2012.

Kelly also allowed the suit to continue against another officer who Ford said tried to drag him out of his car, but threw out claims against a third officer and the city of Pittsburgh.

Ford, 23, and his attorneys contend he was wrongly pulled over, purportedly for running a stop sign. A struggle broke out when police mistakenly thought Ford was a wanted gang member with a similar name, and officers tried to pull him out of the car.

Police said Ford tried to drive away, dragging Officer David Derbish, who shot Ford multiple times from inside the car. Ford testified that the still-running car got knocked into gear as police tried to pull him from it.

Ford was acquitted of aggravated assault in 2014, but a jury deadlocked on charges including resisting arrest, escape and reckless endangerment. The city decided not to retry him on those charges.

Kelly said a jury should decide disputed facts such as whether officers saw a bulge in Ford's sweatpants that they believed could be a weapon, why the officer leaned into the car in violation of police policy and whether Ford was attempting to flee when his car moved forward with the officer inside.

An internal police board said officers contributed to the shooting by not following proper procedures, though board members also said the shooting wouldn't have occurred had Ford obeyed the officers.

Related Content

Pittsburgh’s acting police chief and Mayor Bill Peduto were two panelists in a discussion on police/community relations as part of the Mayor’s Night on Air at the Community Broadcast Center Wednesday evening.

Tensions have been high between police and the black community in Pittsburgh due to issues that have been building up for decades. Now, Peduto said work is underway to change that.

“We have done more than just hiring a police chief; we have created a culture change within Pittsburgh,” Peduto said.

Peduto cited his hiring of Public Safety Director Stephen Bucar and bringing in a new chief from outside the ranks of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. He also said through years of politics in the department, control over the organization and morale has taken a hit. Acting Police Chief Cameron McLay said he has been welcomed by rank-and-file officers, but he knows change won’t occur overnight.

“Culture is a slow thing to change. It takes years and years and years to change culture,” McLay said. “But effective leaders working together can change climate a lot faster, so that’s what we are trying to do here.”

To start to tackle the issue, Peduto said three critical areas within policing need to be reformed. The first is how officers are recruited.

Pittsburgh Police negotiations are underway, and Mayor Bill Peduto said he’s willing to bargain as long as he sees reform.

In March, a labor arbitrator ruled that Pittsburgh Police are not required to live within the city. Instead, they are permitted to live within a 25 mile radius of the City County Building. But soon after, Peduto appealed the decision.

Peduto said Wednesday he would be willing to bargain if he could see three improvements to the police system in Pittsburgh.

He said he wants to reform how officers are recruited and wants a police force that reflects the city, with more diversity. He also wants to see a change in how police are promoted, saying that it should be based on merit instead of a test.

Pittsburgh's new police chief is being praised by the mayor but criticized by a police union president for being photographed on New Year's Eve holding a sign that says: "I resolve to challenge racism @ work."

The sign also has a Twitter hash tag that says "# end white silence." Chief Cameron McLay was photographed holding up the sign that someone had brought to the city's annual First Night celebration.

Mayor Bill Peduto said he saw the picture on social media and liked it so much he re-posted it on his own Facebook page.

Mayor Bill Peduto on Monday attended the first of two meetings with rank-and-file police officers to find out what they’re looking for in a police chief.

Peduto said he was pleasantly surprised that the comments he heard from officers “were very much in line” with what he’s heard from the public and with his own ideas about what kind of police chief Pittsburgh needs.

An investigation conducted by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports western Pennsylvania has been following a national trend regarding civil rights. Nationwide, over the last 20 years the U.S. Department of Justice has declined to bring charges in 96 percent of civil rights complaints against law enforcement. Joining us to address this issue are, Tribune Review reporters Andrew Conte and Brian Bowling. We’ll also speak with U.S. Attorney David Hickton.